Well we have all thought about if we should worry about shrinkage right? I know i have. The fact is, everyone wonders whether or not your carpets will shrink when exposed to all of the chemicals and hot water that the carpet cleaning process. The last thing a homeowner wants is to have a very expensive carpet or oriental rug get all screwed up from a little cleaning. Well lets discover what the heck is going on.

Types Of Shrinkable Carpets There are two kinds of carpet that are at risk of the dreaded shrinkage! The first one is Axminsters and the second is Wiltons. An authentic Axminsters has a woolen face fiber (the top part you step on) and the backing is made of a jute backing yarn (the back interlaced part) that is woven in with the woolen face. If the backing jute becomes wet, through the cleansing process, there is a chance the backing could shrink. Typically we have seen this happen when an extremely poor cleaning job has been performed.

Belgian Wiltons are typically made with a polypropylene face with the same jute backing of the Axminster. High quality Wiltons are made with a wool backing. The less expensive Wiltons (with polypropylene face) cannot absorb any of the moisture produced during the cleaning process resulting in the jute backing becoming wet and resulting in some degree of shrinking. To check and see if you have a high quality Wiltons or not you can check the back of the carpet by pulling up a corner and looking to see if the pattern is visible on the backing and matches the face pile. You can always have our carpet cleaning technician check this out for you to avoid a potential disaster.

What's up? Why Do They Shrink?

Many factors can lead to the unfortunate shrinking of you carpets. Poor cleaning technique and shoddy equipment are at the top of the list. Poor and under powered equipment can leave a lot of water on and in the carpet resulting in a complete soaking of the jute backing material. As we said above that is the main reason these types of carpets shrink. Most likely the machine being used is older and cant get enough suction to do a good job. Another reason for this mishap is if the carpet cleaning guy sprayed to much cleaning solution on the carpet prior to the process starting as well as using to much water during the cleansing process. So the skinny on what is actually happening is the jute backing gets wet and swells up leading to the whole weave structure to become damaged. This damage allows the backing material to shrink when the carpet fibers dry out.

So What Can Be Done To Avoid This Mess?

First of all, hire a very reputable and knowledgeable carpet cleaning company from the start. Don't be afraid to ask a ton of questions up front because this is your property and you should do everything possible to avoid this type of disaster. When asking questions make sure you find out how well trained their guys are and what kind of training they have obtained. Maybe ask how powerful the equipment is that they use and what level of suction their machines can provide. At the very least make sure you pick the brain of the technician that is dispatched to your home and get a feel for his or her level of knowledge before they start the cleaning service. If they seem to not know what you are talking about then you may very well want to hire a higher quality company that has your best interests at heart.